Stealing Sunshine
by achildofthestars
Summary: Updated Twoshot. Cameron eavesdrops on House and Cuddy after a long shift at work. Salacious, it's not, but it makes her realize that she's no longer part of House's world. Or so she believes.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: And bones4life presenting another oneshot! Leave some feedback please. Thanks. Peace.  
**

* * *

At four in the morning, Cameron straightened her back, ignoring the popping sound that she was becoming increasingly familiar with. Grabbing her bag out her locker, the file slid out to the floor by her feet with a few soft swishes.

_Crap, I forgot about this._

Rubbing her eyes, she let out a deep sigh before bending down and hearing the small crack in her knees. Almost a year in the ER and she was aging just beautifully. Because she wouldn't be back for three days, she decided to slide the sheets under Dr. Baxter's door so he wouldn't stroke out if he didn't get her input on cutting the budget yet again. The man just _had _to know what everyone thought.

She decided to take the long way around for some reason.

Cameron shifted the bag on her shoulder once more, fighting the urge to close her eyes and keep them that way. As she was about to turn the corner, she heard his voice and it stopped her in her slow tracks.

"_I_ have to be here at this god-awful time. So do you."

"It's _your_ patient. You should be here. I, on the other hand, would be at home in bed if you hadn't threatened the man's son that you would do a tracheotomy on his father."

"It's not my fault he knows your home phone number."

Like an intruder, Cameron huddled closer to the wall. Like an invader, she knew she should turn away. Their voices wouldn't let her. The way he spoke to Cuddy, arrogant and disdainful was something familiar, but something new was there. Was there softness, lowness, carefulness?

Cuddy pointedly glanced at him and sighed before resuming the position House was in: arms leaning against the top rail, looking down at the clear view of the lobby beside the clinic and her office.

"How's your Wilson withdrawal coming?"

"I'm not addicted to Wilson."

"_Yeah_. He's the only person you like and he is no longer at your beck and call."

House was silent for a while and Cameron momentarily thought the man had sulked off into his always destination, his office. And then it came, as intimate as a touch across bare skin, barely discernible.

"He's not the only person I like."

With a wry chuckle, Cuddy leaned her elbow on the rail and rested her chin in her palm. "Who else do you like?"

"Your mama."

The slap on his arm made its way to Cameron's ears and she smiled in spite of herself.

"My mother hated you, remember?"

"She met me once!"

"Once is enough. _Trust me._"

"That was low, Cuddles."

"So was your performance."

"Only because I had to think of Bo Derek swishing her braids every time you gasped for air to scream my name."

From behind the corner, the eavesdropper frowned.

_So, it is true. _

It would be a lie if Cameron said it meant nothing, though she couldn't say what it did mean to her. She'd always had her suspicions, and now that they were confirmed, she almost wished she didn't know. He'd slept with every woman but her. It never was her.

"I didn't want to hurt your feelings, House."

"You were as cut-throat as cut-throat-bitch back then."

"I was not!"

"You were a freshman and called Dr. Minty out on a diagnosis."

"I thought he was wrong!"

"Think with your wonderful, bounties. Not your brain, Cuddy."

"Shut up, pig."

The amicable silence that engulfed them didn't seem to faze either one of them. It bothered Cameron which didn't make sense because it shouldn't. House wasn't hers. Never had been and never would be.

"Thanks…."

The Dean raised her eyebrows, almost stunned into silence. "For what?"

He kept his gaze centered on the janitor mopping the floor downstairs. "For letting me fire the new team. After this case of course."

"You do know I don't approve."

"Yet, you're letting me do it anyways."

"Only because you cured my sister."

Shrugging, he seemed to say it didn't matter. "It's about time."

"Not even a year?"

"I broke 'em in. Good enough for me."

"You do know you'll have to get another team together."

He replied only by raising his eyebrows.

"House…."

That was all Cameron heard since she walked away after the low tones finally got to her. She hadn't heard him talk so smoothly in so long. She hadn't had a conversation with him in two months. It shouldn't matter.

She walked the long corridors, choosing to take the stairs instead of the elevator for some ungodly reason. Each step echoed with something that sounded awfully like regret, want, need. She paid it no heed since she was perfectly fine where she was…wherever that was.

Pushing the door open, she realized she'd made it to the final floor. The janitor briefly glanced her way, giving her a curt nod which she returned politely. It was then that she realized that she missed the challenge House offered her. Everyone else was normal, completely redundant in everything about them. And him? He was a kaleidoscope of everchanging thoughts and mannerisms that had kept her on her toes. At the time, she hadn't realized the passion in her work which she now understood was taken for granted like most things were. One year later, she thought the good she was doing in the ER was finally washing away the need House had hated for so long. That was good.

Cameron knew they would watch her as she walked through the lobby. The back of her neck felt warmer as she thought about him watching her in her pink scrubs, reminded of her fall from grace. Then again, he had Cuddy to entertain his thoughts.

She caught the movement from the corner of her eye before recognizing the figure that stood waiting for her.

"What are you doing here?"

Chase shrugs his shoulders, a small smile crossing his handsome features. "Figured after that 38 shift you'd have a hard time driving back to your place."

_He's so thoughtful. He's grown so much. He knows so much more. He's stronger. Sometimes he reminds me of-._

The short nod he gave over her head made her remember the two figures that still stood side by side at the rails. She didn't mimic the gesture, not wanting to see the man that she never could wrap her head around.

"You ready?" she asked, putting her hands on her bag so she wouldn't have to hold his hand and let them see it.

"Always," he replied, meaning more than the obvious, though knowing at the same time she would never quite see that far. The smile she gave him, tired and loose, almost made him want to tell her to make up her mind and choose the one who was still there in front of her rather than the one who, if given the chance, would push her out of the way with no apologies like he had done before. Chase did nothing however, since he was a selfish man.

Cuddy watched House's reaction, fighting the smirk that was creeping towards her face as she nodded.

"You like her?"

"What?" He asked disconcerted, still looking at the blonde pair below. "No, she's a pocket full of sunshine."

"That's why you can't stop looking at her."

This time, he pointedly looked away to stare at Cuddy's breasts. "Better?"

"You've always liked her."

"I like your wonderfully crafted-."

"Hire her back."

House's head slowly turns up to stare at his boss, his stance suddenly gaining a tension that had been lacking before. "What for?"

"How else are you going to steal her away from Chase?"


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I thought about it and...finally I realized Nellas was right. House hadn't really stolen 'sunshine.' So, here is the end, and I'll just let you guys know that somehow, they do end up together.  
**

* * *

"Where's your British plaything?" House asked, not really caring, as he sat opposite her at the lunch table.

Cameron didn't bother to glance up. "Saving a life."

"I hardly call slicing someone open and rummaging around life saving."

This time she stopped peeling and looked at House. "He's helping you."

"He is _not_ helping me."

She bit halfway into an orange slice. "You need Chase. It's alright to admit it."

"No one needs Chase."

"Only someone who needed him would say that."

"How does that even make sense?"

Biting into the other half of the slice, she shrugged her shoulders. House rolled his eyes at her noncommittal gesture before stealing half of her orange.

"It took me forever to peel that half!"

"House gives many thanks."

Cameron reached over to grab half of his sandwich, barely missing her hand getting swapped at.

"Cameron gives many thanks."

House threw another slice into his mouth and Cameron bit into the sandwich. They stared at each other before she went back to her newspaper and he went back to doing nothing. Whenever he was done, she picked up both of their plates and threw them away, not caring that he was watching her.

They walked out of the cafeteria together, and at the point where she would turn left to walk down to the ER and he would keep going straight to the elevators, he placed the cane in front of her like a blockade.

_Hire her back._

"House, I-."

"I've got an opening on my team."

* * *

"House…" she swallowed before lowering her gaze to his carpeted floor, slightly scared at how familiar it was to stand in this very position in this very room.

"Look," he stood with a sigh. "It was just an offer."

"No, I," she softly smiled up at him and tapped his desk with her fingers. "I never thought I could be back here. I wanted to…at the beginning." She stopped the tapping and focused on him, wondering why she couldn't keep herself away.

"But I can't go back, House. I don't want to be your not even glorified secretary. I've been nearly running the ER this past year, and I can't just go back to being the dirt beneath your shoe. I'm your colleague. I need that."

Dropping the pen onto his desk, House released a wry smile. What had he been thinking? That she would say yes and demand that he take her out to dinner to celebrate? She'd say yes and suddenly everything would be somewhat better? He looked at her on the other side of his desk, older, more confident, wiser, lighter and heavier at the same time. Time away from him had done her good. Time with Chase had made her less clenched.

"That's fine," he finally said. "Stay and be worthless in the ER."

For a moment, as he grabbed his cane and started to walk out, she was going to stay silent. The part of her that was still tied to him wouldn't let her.

"Why did you ask me?"

Hand on the door, he paused and slightly turned. "Why not?"

"You could have anyone you wanted. I wouldn't think it would be me."

_You like her?_

"I like you," was his answer, not sure once he'd said it if he actually had. "You answer the mail, make the coffee, keep the sugar stocked, occasionally surprise me, and your complete adoration satiates my ego."

Those first three words caused her to frown. And then he had to explain it, which made her lean back against his desk as she listened to him and realize he hadn't meant to say it. He still hadn't learned to shut up.

"You're a black hole, House."

The statement made him take a few steps away from the door and few more toward her.

"Foreman might take offense."

Cameron took her own few steps in his direction. "You're mysterious, dark, hard to get to." She tilted her head slightly. "You suck everyone towards you without even knowing it. A mighty destroyer of planets and universes, particles and atoms."

"I've been told I thought the world revolved around me but-."

"It suits you. We all know better but we still can't help but come near you."

Standing before him, so close she could poke him if she wanted to, Cameron stared at him, wanting him to say something.

_What? No, she's a ray of sunshine._

When he stayed mute, she dropped her head with something close to a chuckle. He never changed. That was comforting. It hurt somewhere. How many times had she thought about him asking her back to work for him? How many times had she thought about him telling her he loved her? When had she grown out of such thoughts?

At her small laugh, he frowned and watched her intensely, not knowing what was going through her mind. Was she laughing because she thought it was funny he 'liked' her? Did she think he was absolute loser for asking her back? When her eyes found his, he was surprised that something close to absolute calmness framed her face and body. He'd seen her like that once. The night of the monster trucks and the night she'd quit.

_How else are you going to steal her away from Chase?_

"I guess you better go before I suck you in."

If only he knew. "Thanks for the offer."

Nodding, House didn't watch her walk out. He hadn't thought she would turn him down. She still liked him, wanted to impress him, needed to keep him in her orbit, but she had stood there and denied herself. She hadn't changed so much after all.

* * *

The cup had almost reached his lips when the knocking on his door stopped and opened slowly.

"What are you doing here?" He brought the cup down to his counter.

Her eyes blinked harshly against the light and he briefly wondered if she was stoned again.

"Cameron?" he asked as he made his way towards the woman whose hair was falling around her shoulders in a near frenzy from the strong winds outside.

"Does the offer still stand?"

"I thought-."

"I can't," she interrupted. "I mean that I won't take your crap like I did last time. I'll still work in the ER. I won't make your coffee."

Because he hadn't grabbed his cane, House tapped his fingers on his leg anxiously.

"Why'd you change your mind?"

"Does it really matter?"

"It might."

"Chase thought I should take the job."

"You're doing this to make him happy?"

She swallowed. "He's _not_ happy."

House clicked his tongue and darted his gaze away from her face.

"Eleven o'clock sharp tomorrow."

Cameron didn't know what she felt at the moment, but it felt like something she hadn't felt in a very long time. She could worry about that later.

Whenever she left, he leaned against the door and didn't fight the smile. The black hole had just stolen sunshine.

.end.

* * *

**A/N: I know, very vague ending, but you guys know me...I can't help myself. Anyways, hope you liked the ending piece! Thanks!  
**


End file.
